Geographic Places

The Last of the Cuiva [electronic resource]

ITV Global Entertainment

Format

Video; Computer Resource; Online Video; Online

Summary

This is the story of the last 600 of the dying Cuiva tribe in southeastern Colombia, for the most part still living a Stone Age existence as naked hunters and gatherers. The film focuses on changes in their culture and society, brought about through contact with Colombian settlers. We see two contrasting groups of Cuiva: The first is relatively isolated and lives the traditional nomadic life, as the men hunt and fish and the women gather. The second group has been drawn into the Colombian economy, working occasionally for the ranchers in order to earn money and buy trade goods. The Cuiva seem to be living the present-day role of the North American Indians of 150 years ago: driven off their hunting grounds by the cowboys, massacred if they insist on fighting for their homes.

Release Date

1970

Run Time

68 min.

Language

Closed-captioned

Rating

11 & up

Notes

Encoded with permission for digital streaming by Films Media Group on September 12, 2012.

Films on Demand is distributed by Films Media Group for Films for the Humanities & Sciences, Cambridge Educational, Meridian Education, and Shopware.

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This is the story of the last 600 of the dying Cuiva tribe in southeastern Colombia, for the most part still living a Stone Age existence as naked hunters and gatherers. The film focuses on changes in their culture and society, brought about through contact with Colombian settlers. We see two contrasting groups of Cuiva: The first is relatively isolated and lives the traditional nomadic life, as the men hunt and fish and the women gather. The second group has been drawn into the Colombian economy, working occasionally for the ranchers in order to earn money and buy trade goods. The Cuiva seem to be living the present-day role of the North American Indians of 150 years ago: driven off their hunting grounds by the cowboys, massacred if they insist on fighting for their homes.